Board of Advisors
Skip Jump Links- Congressman Chet Edwards
- John Ely
- Dennis Fischer
- Hon. Michèle Angelique Flournoy
- Vincette L. Goerl
- Major General (Ret) Elder Granger, MD, FACP, FACPE, CMQ
- R. Keith Harrison
- Dr. Steven Kelman
- F. Glenn Richardson
- Robert A. Rudzki
- RADM (Ret) Leonard "Lenn" Vincent
- Dr. David C. Wyld
- Hon. John J. Young Jr.
Congressman Chet Edwards
Congressman Chet Edwards (1991-2011) represented portions of North Texas, Central Texas and the Brazos Valley in Washington. Congressman Edwards served as a respected member on both the House Budget and the Appropriations Committees, as well as on the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee, as vice chair of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and co-chair of the House Army Caucus. During his post, he became known as a national champion for America's Veterans, troops and their families. After becoming chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee in 2007, Congressman Edwards authored an historic $17.7 billion increase in funding for Veterans health care and benefits, the largest increase in Veterans funding in the history of the Veterans Administration. He also played a key role in enacting the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights into law that covers the full cost of a college education for our troops. In 2008, both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars recognized Congressman Edwards' leadership with their national awards given to only one member of Congress. Currently, Congressman Edwards is a Distinguished Professor of Public Service at Baylor University and serves on the Army National Cemeteries Advisory Commission.
John Ely
John Ely is a 35-year veteran of the federal contracting environment, where he held key leadership positions in the Departments of Defense, Treasury and Homeland Security. Much of this experience lives in the field of information technology systems and services acquisition. Mr. Ely possesses a wealth of knowledge around the federal acquisition environment, especially in the areas of contract capture and successful contract performance. He served as the Procurement Executive for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from 2004 to early 2011 and was responsible for an annual contract spend of over $3.4 billion dollars. Under Mr. Ely’s leadership the organization became a center of excellence for the acquisition of information technology products and services, aircraft and marine vessels, architect, engineering and construction services and of law enforcement subsistence products. Prior to joining CBP, Mr. Ely served for 13 years as a senior procurement executive at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), where he led the information technology acquisition organization and was subsequently appointed as Deputy Executive Director of Procurement. His accomplishments at IRS included the creation of the award-winning Treasury Information Processing Support Service (TIPSS) program and the hardware-oriented Treasury Departmental Acquisition (TDA). He received the General Services Administration’s Trail Boss of the Year award for his acquisition leadership in implementing the TIPSS program. Mr. Ely spent his first 15 years of federal service in the Department of Defense negotiating contracts in support of the Department of the Army and Office of the Secretary of Defense. His efforts resulted in the award of essential contracts for joint-service health care systems and other military applications. Mr. Ely holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.
Dennis Fischer
Dennis Fischer is currently the director for Government Innovation at Grant Thornton LLC, a leading international consulting firm. Mr. Fischer has served as the commissioner of the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service (GSA FTS); as the chief financial officer of GSA; as the deputy assistant secretary, finance and deputy CFO of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and recently as the vice president, Sales & Integration at VISA U.S.A. Mr. Fischer also has served in numerous government-wide management roles including positions with: the Government Information Technology Services Board, the Federal CFO Council, the General Accounting Office Governmental Auditing Standards Advisory Council, the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) Steering Committee and the Cost Accounting Standards Board.
Hon. Michèle Angelique Flournoy
In 2009, Michèle Angelique Flournoy was named Under Secretary of Defense for Policy of the United States—making her the highest-ranking woman to hold a post at the Pentagon in the facility's history at that time. Earlier, in 2007 Flournoy founded and was named president of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Prior to that, she was a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she worked on a broad range of defense policy and international security issues. Flournoy was a distinguished research professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University (NDU) and also served as a senior-level political appointee in the Department of Defense during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, working at the Pentagon where she occupied the dual roles of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy. In those capacities, she oversaw three policy offices in the Office of the United States Secretary of Defense: Strategy; Requirements, Plans and Counterproliferation; and Russia, Ukraine and Eurasian Affairs. Flournoy was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1996, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1998 and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2000. She holds a B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard University and an M.Litt in International Relations from Oxford University, where she was a Newton-Tatum scholar at Balliol College.
Vincette L. Goerl
Vincette Goerl is a federal financial management professional with nearly 40 years of experience as both a federal public servant and private sector consultant. She served in financial management leadership positions at the Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, Department of Treasury and the Department of Agriculture during her 28 year federal career. Ms. Goerl developed her broad-based expertise in federal management through positions in financial management, financial management systems, budget formulation and execution, planning and performance measurement and information technology. Among her senior executive service positions, Ms. Goerl served as the first chief financial officer (CFO) at the U.S. Customs Service from 1994 to 1998, where she was responsible for the management of resources totaling almost $5B and the collection of over $22B in duty and excise taxes. She managed a staff of over 500 that provided financial, budget, facilities, property and procurement services to the agency. She also served as the first CFO at the U.S. Forest Service from 1998 to 2001 with agency resources exceeding $5B and a workforce of over 35,000. While CFO, Ms. Goerl successfully implemented a new financial management system nationwide and conducted the first inventory of over 45,000 real property assets valued over $5B. Since she retired in 2001, Ms. Goerl has provided federal financial management consulting and advisory services in three private sector companies, including Daston Corporation, CGI Federal, and most recently at her own company, Goerl Consulting, LLC. She has provided consulting advice to CFOs, Deputy CFOs, and other senior executives in the General Services Agency, NASA, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Personnel Management, Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Justice, among others. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a CFO SAGE (Strategic Advisors to Government Executives) at the Partnership for Public Service. She graduated with a B.S. in History and Political Science from McPherson College in McPherson College, where she also serves on the College Board of Trustees.
Major General (Ret) Elder Granger, MD, FACP, FACPE, CMQ
MG Granger, MD is founder and president of The 5Ps, LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), providing cutting edge information technology solutions to commercial and government agencies. In July of 2009, after 37 years of military service, he retired as the deputy director and program executive officer of the TRICARE Management Activity, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). In this role he served as the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) on Department of Defense (DoD) health plan policy and performance, overseeing the acquisition, operation and integration of DoD's managed care program within the Military Health System covering 9.4 million uniformed service members, their families, retirees and others worldwide. Prior to joining TRICARE Management Activity, MG Granger led the largest U.S. and multi-national battlefield health system in our recent history while serving as Commander, Task Force 44th Medical Command and Command Surgeon for the Multinational Corps Iraq. He has led at every level of the Army Medical Department. MG Granger began his career with the Army Medical Department in 1971 as a Combat Medic in the U.S. Army National Guard. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Arkansas State University in 1976. A Distinguished Military Graduate, MG Granger was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Upon graduation from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine in 1980, he was awarded the Henry Kaiser Medical Fellowship for Medical Excellence and Leadership. MG Granger completed a residency in Internal Medicine in 1983 and a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology in 1986 at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. His military education includes the Army War College, the Army Command and General Staff College, the Army Medical Department Officer Advanced and Basic Courses, the Military Health System and Army CAPSTONE Courses and the Combat Casualty Care Course.
R. Keith Harrison
Global procurement industry leader, R. Keith Harrison, currently guides large, diverse organizations towards best practices for achieving operational efficiency in the areas of supply chain, strategy development and deployment, organization design and capability. After 41 years of highly-regarded, enterprise-level leadership, Mr. Harrison recently retired from Procter & Gamble where he led global procurement, covering distribution of 250 brands in more than 80 countries. As Global Supply Officer, he was responsible for company-wide supply chain activities including manufacturing (145 factories worldwide), engineering (approximately $3.5B in annual capital spending), purchasing (estimated $50B/year in spend/logistics for approximately 300 distribution centers globally) and quality—notably reducing the company’s capital spending by 40% and product costs by $10B. Harrison managed the company’s product supply operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa—serving around the world on assignments in Germany, the UK, Belgium and Switzerland—guiding brand management and general management responsibilities in addition to supply chain assignments. In 2001 he was promoted to Procter & Gamble’s Global Product Supply Officer. A graduate of Duke University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, he currently serves on the boards of the Midmark Corporation, Enerfab, Hauser Capital Partners, Hayco Ltd (Hong Kong), THP (Vietnam) and The Apparel Group (China). In addition, Mr. Harrison serves as chair of the Museum Center Foundation and was previously chair of The Cincinnati Museum Center.
Dr. Steven Kelman
Dr. Steven Kelman is the Weatherhead Professor of Public Management at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Kelman is the author of many books and articles on the policymaking process and on improving the management of government organizations, with his latest book, “Unleashing Change: A Study of Organizational Change in Government”, published in June 2005 by the Brookings Institution Press. He is a frequent contributor to Federal Computer Week and currently serves as editor of the International Public Management Journal. From 1993 through 1997, Dr. Kelman served as Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the White House's Office of Management and Budget. During his tenure, he played a primary role in the Administration's "reinventing government" effort, leading the Administration's support for the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 and the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1995. In l996, he was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. In 2001, he received the Herbert Roback Memorial Award, the highest achievement award of the National Contract Management Association and in 2003 he was elected as a Director of The Procurement Roundtable.
F. Glenn Richardson
Glenn Richardson is the former president of FedBid, Inc. and currently serves as senior advisor to the chairman and chief executive officer. He provides strategic direction and leadership; guides strategic relationship management; and, develops policies and objectives to align with overall corporate strategy. A noted industry advisor, consultant and speaker, he represents the company in various professional forums and in the media. Mr. Richardson brings over 25 years of experience working with various government agencies and corporate sector businesses and a record of successful results through innovative solutions to complex business challenges. He is a former partner at Deloitte LLP where he led a strategic engagement with a major global client to analyze and quantify procure-to-pay processes and identified potential annual savings of more than $200M associated with implementing e-commerce initiatives. He is also a former partner at Arthur Andersen LLP where he led the Strategy, Finance and Economics team and was the first three-time winner of the Consultants’ Choice Award. He has served clients in defense agencies, unified commands and in the United States Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force; the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; the National Security Agency; the Central Intelligence Agency; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Homeland Security; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and, numerous private sector enterprises. His military assignments included the U.S. Army Special Operations Command; U.S. Army, Europe; service in Operation Desert Storm; and, The Joint Staff. Mr. Richardson earned a Master of Arts from the US Naval War College, a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University and undergraduate degrees from North Carolina State University.
Robert A. Rudzki
Robert A. Rudzki is a former Fortune 500 senior vice president and chief procurement officer, who now assists other companies achieve breakthrough financial performance through his advisory firm Greybeard Advisors. Prior to founding Greybeard Advisors in 2004, Mr. Rudzki served as senior vice president for Bayer Corp, the North American subsidiary of Bayer AG. At Bayer, he led a nationally-recognized transformation that generated significant improvements in costs and working capital and was a finalist for Purchasing Magazine’s Medal of Excellence. Prior to Bayer, he was an executive at Bethlehem Steel Corp., where he oversaw Bethlehem’s global procurement and logistics activities. During his tenure, Bethlehem’s procurement organization was recognized as "top quartile" in a global benchmarking study conducted by A.T. Kearney and was also twice recognized by Purchasing Magazine as a "Best Place to Work." In addition, Mr. Rudzki co-author of three leading supply management books: "Straight to the Bottom Line®" its sequel "Next Level Supply Management Excellence" and "On-Demand Supply Management”. He has also authored the leadership book "Beat the Odds: Avoid Corporate Death and Build a Resilient Enterprise”. He is a past member of the Advisory Board of Purchasing Magazine and has authored numerous articles and by-lines and writes a blog at Supply Chain Management Review.
RADM (Ret) Leonard "Lenn" Vincent
RADM Lenn Vincent is the Industry Chair at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). He uses his defense and industry experience, expertise and perspective to advise government and industry on matters relative to contracting and program management issues. When he retired from the U.S. Navy on August 1, 1999 at the rank of Rear Admiral, he was the Commandant, Defense Systems Management College (DSMC). Prior to leading DSMC, RADM Vincent had served as the Logistics, Ordnance and Fleet Supply Officer for Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, where he established policy and coordinated logistics requirements to support supply chain operations in the Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean. He was the Commander of the Defense Contracts Management Command (now DCMA), and also served as the senior acquisition executive responsible for procurement policy within the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). As former Vice President at CACI International and American Management Systems, RADM Vincent was responsible for working with senior Department of Defense and Industry leaders to build long-term business relationships and to help identify solutions to acquisition, logistics, and financial management challenges. He has served as President and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Contract Management Association; he serves on the Board of Directors of the Navy League National Capital Council and NDIA Washington DC Chapter, the Board of Visitors of the Defense Acquisition University, and the Board of Directors Procurement Round Table. RADM Vincent holds a Master’s in Business Administration from George Washington University, is a Certified Navy Material and Acquisition Professional, and is DAWIA Level III certified in both Contracting and Logistics.
Dr. David C. Wyld
Dr. Wyld currently serves as the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is the director of the College of Business' Strategic e-Commerce/e-Government Initiative, the founding editor of the International Journal of Managing Information Technology and a frequent contributor to both academic journals and trade publications. He is also the director of the Reverse Auction Research Center, covering trends in e-commerce. He has established himself as one of the leading academic experts on emerging applications of technology in both the public and private sector. He has been an active consultant, a qualified expert witness and an invited speaker on the strategic management of technology to both trade and academic audiences, as well as an invited panelist on technology issues on the Discovery Channel and other media outlets. In recognition of his research accomplishments, Dr. Wyld has been awarded Southeastern's "President's Award for Excellence in Research" and named a “Rising Star in Government Information Technology” by Federal Computer Week Magazine.
Hon. John J. Young Jr.
John Young is currently the principal in JY Strategies, LLC and a founding member of E6 Partners, LLC. He serves on the board of SRI International, the Georgia Tech Research Corporation and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He is also a member of the Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering School Advisory Committee. Mr. Young recently completed service as the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, overseeing $200 billion of Department of Defense research, development, procurement and logistics programs. In this position, he led an unprecedented Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle program, drove the use of competitive prototyping, completed a remarkable swap of shipbuilding workload, established new milestone procedures through the new DoD 5000 instruction and defined and achieved a broad set of goals within the AT&L organization. Mr. Young previously served as the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) and as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. His experience also includes 10 years as a senior staff member with the U.S. Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. During his Pentagon tenure, he was awarded the Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Distinguished Civilian Service Awards, as well as the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award. Mr. Young is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has a Master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
© 2001-2013